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[Despite all of the incredible and sometimes unbelievable things that Wanda’s seen and experienced in her life, nothing quite prepares her for her arrival on the Tranquility. It isn’t even the fact that she’s unexpectedly woken up on a spaceship that throws her off-balance (though it's quite unexpected), or even the fact that time and space and reality seem to work differently there (because really she's sort of used to that). It's that Pietro isn’t there during a decidedly difficult point in her life (after-life?) that impacts her the most. She can’t remember a time they've ever been parted in such a way, and the feeling is extremely unsettling.

Taking a deep breath, she sets her communication device to broadcast her message in video. She's dressed in her Ultimates uniform, though only the top of the red leather shows on screen. By all appearances seems to be in her early to mid-twenties, with an unusual amount of confident and poise evident in her body language.]

Good evening, my name is Wanda Maximoff and I'm another of the recent arrivals.

[Of course, it's not her real last name, but both she and Pietro adopted it after breaking ties with their father, and it was far easier to go through life not reminding people that they were the children of the infamous Magneto.]

I'm looking for any information regarding my brother, Pietro. It seems that he did not arrive with me, but considering the nature of where we are and shifting realities, any news as to whether he was here in the past would be appreciated.

[She shouldn't really need to add that if he arrives in the future she'd also like to know, right? Surely everyone here has some common sense regarding such matters. From all of the FAQ's she's read recently, they seem more on top of matters than she might have expected of most people. Wanda pauses, and after a moment continues.]

Also, has anyone managed to determine how many different dimensions and points in time we represent on board? Which worlds are similar and which ones are clearly separate, for instance?

[She's curious, not just because of her own dealings with altering reality, but because she's hoping that someone will be able to give her a basic idea of who she's dealing with on board and perhaps even which ones are from worlds similar to her own. Mentioning mutants or any groups by name would draw attention she's not sure she wants yet. Not until she knows who's listening on the other end.]

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Haven't heard tell of anyone calling themselves Pietro, I'm afraid.

[That isn't what pinged Blake, though - no, what pinged him was her second question, because it's definitely something he's wondered about, too - and with the arrival of the mysterious woman who seems to know about Batman, about Gotham, but he has no idea who or what she is, well. It's relevant.]

Regarding your second question, I'm curious about that myself but I'm not sure it's even possible to do anything like that. Some people are here from worlds that are obviously... very different. [He's looking at you, Westerosi, and you, Thedans.] But, well. It might be a lot tougher to figure out if people are from... different versions of the same universe, without knowing where they might diverge in the first place.

[She makes a brief sound in acknowledgment to his initial reply. Wanda doesn't really hold any hope that anyone will have any news of Pietro. That the first man to respond had known him was strange indeed, especially considering the place that he claimed to have known him.]

It would be extremely difficult, I agree. Distinct woulds would be simple enough to categorize on their own, but those that are similar with slight differences, with varying points of time to take into account--it may not even be worth the effort to approach it from that particular angle.

[This isn't her first time crossing from one dimension to another, nor the second if you count the instance in which she brought doppelgangers from a third dimension into the second, but she is for the moment in entirely new territory here.]

Do you know if there's anyone here who deal in reality-based magic? Or sciences that operate it more than one dimension?

Magic? [He mostly avoids talking to the people who claim to use magic. Aliens, fictional characters, well. Okay. But magic, he tends to shy away from it because it's just so far out of his realm of experience.]

I know there are a few people here who claim to be able to use magic, but I can't say I've ever heard anyone talk about bending reality with it.

Most of that stuff is pretty far outside my purview. I'm afraid I come from one of those mundane worlds with no magic, monsters or aliens. Just realizing there might be people from my world but in the past was kind of hard for me to comprehend, I'm afraid. [He says it mildly enough, a gentle probe of sorts for information.]

[Arriving here must have been far more jarring for him than it was for her then. She had the benefit of having been through something vaguely similar before, voluntarily of course.]

That's understandable then. What would you say does fall within your purview? Have you a specialty of your own?

[She's side-stepping the unspoken request for more information from her while she can. The purpose of this network communication is for her to gather intel, as far as she's concerned.]

I'm sorry I don't believe I caught your name.

[He's okay with offering up information that's common knowledge already, if it might afford an opportunity to get some out of her. Mostly he's curious, at this point.]

Back home I was a cop, so I guess you could call that my specialty. And my name is John Blake.

Was reality bending your specialty?

[Between the other conversations that Wanda is currently having and the fact that her abilities are fairly public back home, Wanda's not certain she'll be able to keep some particulars about herself a secret.]

Yes.

[One of them, in any case. It's uncomfortable to admit that publicly though Wanda's very good at disguising her emotions so only the most perceptive might notice.]

Though this being another dimension I'm not experimenting with anything until I know more.

[Part of the reason she's seeking more information.]

That's... some admirable restraint. I feel like some of the people here could probably benefit from that. [His voice is a little wry, here.] Including myself, probably.

Is such behavior rare to find in others on-board then?

There is definitely a contingent of people on board who seem happy to rush into things without trying to get any relevant information first, yeah.

And there's no shortage of situations to rush into without assessing things first, I assume.

This whole situation is like that, I think.

[Isn't that just great.]

I imagine that keeps you busy, considering your occupation.

I can't really stop people from doing stupid, dangerous things. And you might be surprised by the number of people complaining about boredom.

Boredom? On a spaceship, full of people from other worlds, in an alternate dimension?

[Not to mention all of the other factors there are to take into account. Painted walls. Smiley. People dying. They're bored? Really?]

I can't figure it out, either. [Kids these days, etc.]

Hm, everyone fancies themselves jaded, perhaps.

Or, frankly, they're spoiled teenagers.

Also a possibility. Are there so many of the younger generation on board?

[Says the woman only five years out of her teens, but she mentally and emotionally speaking she aged much faster than the average person. Circumstances wouldn't allow for otherwise.]

A lot more than I'd like. I've seen kids as young as six or seven.

Without family or friends from their world to care for them?

Some of them seem to have people they know; it's kind of a crap shoot here, though.

[The prospect doesn't sit well with her, but Wanda's not particularly maternal and isn't about to volunteer for the duty of looking after anyone.]

How unfortunate.

[An understatement, of course.]

There are some people who have been putting activities and things together for the younger kids.

Mm, well that's good then.

[All the more reason she won't feel the need to check in on them or look after them.]

In any case, I appreciate your feedback regarding my earlier questions. I don't suppose there are others you'd recommend I speak with regarding the matter?

No one I can think of specifically who's talked about powers regarding alternate realities. But you could try hitting up Spock or Kirk. They've been here a good long time, and they have a lot of knowledge.

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doesthemath - 2012-11-26 19:58 (UTC) - Expand

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